Sounding board for stringed musical instruments



g- 1953 M. MACCAFERRI 2,649,827

SOUNDING BOARD FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS INVENTOR ATTORNEY6Patented Aug. 25, 1953 SOUNDING BOARD FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTSMario Maccaferri, Rye, N. Y., assignor to French American ReedsManufacturing 00., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkOriginal application March 15, 1950, Serial No. 149,741, now Patent No.2,597,154, dated May 20, 1952. Divided and this application January 3,1952, Serial No. 264,715

2 Claims. 1

My invention relates to certain improvements in sounding boards forstringed musical instruments; and the nature and objects of theinvention will be readily understood and recognized by those skilled inthe arts involved in the light of the following explanation and detaileddescription of the accompanying drawings illustrating what I at presentconsider to be the preferred embodiments or mechanical and functionalexpressions of the invention and of the various features thereof, fromamong other forms, expressions, embodiments, modifications,constructions and combinations, of which the invention is capable withinthe broad spirit and scope thereof as defined by the claims heretoappended.

This application is filed as a division of my copendin applicationSerial No. 149,741, filed March 15, 1950, now U. S. Patent 2,597,154,dated May 20, 1952, for Stringed Musical Instruments.

The present invention is primarily directed to those general types ofstringed musical instruments which are characterized by a hollow bodyhaving a sounding board formed with a sound opening therein, securedover and closing the upper side of the body, with a finger boardmounting neck extending from one end of the hollow body and terminatingat its outer end in a head for mounting therein of the string adjustingand tuning keys. Such types of instruments also include spaced stringssecured to the head mounted keys and extended therefrom inwardly alongand over the finger board on the neck, to and across the sounding boardand the sound opening therein, to a bridge member secured to thesounding board. More specifically my invention is concerned with suchtypes of instruments formed and constructed of plastic materials, orhaving the sounding board thereof formed of a plastic material.

A main object of my invention is to provide a construction of soundingboard by which the volume, resonance and tone of an instrument areimproved.

Another object is to provide such a sounding board of plastic material.

A further object is to provide a sounding board having a sound openingtherethrough with an integral structure surrounding the sound openingand so formed and positioned as to 1mprove the tonal and resonancequalities of an instrument incorporating such sounding board.

Another object is to provide an all-plastic sounding board having asound opening therethrough, with an annular plastic flange formedintegral with and extending inwardly from the board around and definingan inward continuation of the sound opening.

With the foregoing objects, features and results in View, as well ascertain others which will be readily apparent from the followingdetailed description, my invention consists in certain novel features indesign, constructions and combinations, all as will be more particularlyreferred to and described hereinafter.

Referrin to the accompanying drawings in which similar referencecharacters refer to corresponding parts throughout the several figuresthereof:

Fig. 1 is a view in top plan of a stringed musical instrument of theukulele type having a sounding board and sound opening constructed inaccordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the body and sounding board ofthe instrument of Fig. 1, taken as on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken ascn the line 33of Fig. 1.

An all-plastic stringed musical instrument of the ukulele type embodyingthe inventions of my application Serial No. 149,741, above identified,has been selected and is disclosed herewith as embodying a plasticsounding board having the integral, inwardly extended flange or ring ofmy present invention, positioned surrounding and forming a continuationof and defining a passage opening outwardly through the sound opening.While the disclosed example embodiment may be considered to be apreferred form, it is to be understood however that the invention is notrestricted to this form and embodiment as it contemplates and includesadaptations to sounding boards of other materials and to musicalinstruments of other than the ukulele type of this example, and formedfrom materials other than plastics.

The stringed musical instrument of the example is formed of a moldablethermoplastic, specifically a polystyrene which lends itself toinjection molding and which when constructed as disclosed in mycopending application, has the required characteristics to form aninstrument of fine musical qualities. Referring to the drawings, theexample instrument in the form of a ukulele, is comprised of a hollowbody or bell B having a sounding board S over and closing the upper sidethereof, with a sound opening E formed through the sounding board. Aneck N extends. from one end of the body B and terminates at its outerend in a tuning key mounting 3 head N. A fretted finger board F ismounted or provided on neck N and extends between the inner end of headH and the adjacent end of body B and sound board S. A cover plate C ismounted on and covers the outer or upper side of head H. A bridge D issecured in transversely disposed position on the outer side of soundingboard S between the outer end of body B and the sound opening E. In theukulele type of stringed instrument four (4) strings are usuallyprovided, and four (4) string tuning keys GI, G2, G3, and G4 areiournaled in and extend transversely through head H and the cover plateC to which are attached the ends of the strings l,"2, '3 and 4,respectively.

The strings I, 2, 3 and-4 are stretched from the tuning keys GI, G2, G3and G l, inwardly across finger board F, sounding board S and the soundopening E therein, to the bridge D towhich they are attached and securedin spaced relation, as will be clear by reference to Fig. 1. The stringsi, 2, 3 and 4 are stretched between the tuning keys and the bridge Dunder tension, which may be varied by means ofthe rotatable keys tothereby tune the strings.

In the example instrument the body portion B has a maximum overalllength along its longitudinal center of approximately nine inches (9)and a maximum transverse width at the portion thereof between the soundopening El and the outer end wall 12 of the body, of approximately sixinches (6") The body B comprises the outer end wall E2, the inner endwall it, "with the opposite side walls H and the bottom wall 10. It

is to be noted that walls II, 12 and Hi form a continuoushn'd'unbro'ken'wall structure around the body B, so that the interior of thebody or bell is defined by "continuous, unbroken and smooth surfacessymmetrical iroinside to side and end to end of the body. The overallthickness or depth or thebody B is, in this instance, approximately twoinches ('2'). In the illustrated instrument formed of polystyrene thethickness of the bottom well this approximately eight hundr'e'dths or aninch (.08"), and the side Walls ii and op osite end walls [2 and iii areor the same thickness.

"The soundingboard S is a'se'parate component formed ofpolystyrene andhas a plan form to conform totheplan form of the body B. In theparticular example instrument hereof havin the overall dimensions asabove, the sounding board S has a thickness of approximately eighthundredths of an'inch (1)8) The soundingboard s has at the undersidethereof a depending flange 20 therearou'nd of "a shape to form arelatively snu slip fit within and around the internal contour of theside and walls of a body B, with this flange inset from the outer edgeof the sounding 'board'to provide a shoulder $2! which'seats upon thecontinuous up er or outer edges of the side "and end walls ii, and lintthe body. This is clearly shown in Figs. and The sounding boards issuitably" emented in assembled position on and "over the-cuter silenl':body '13 'to'thus form the complete hollow, resonant body or bell of thein- In accordance withthe present invention, the sound "opening E"i'nthe sounding board S is 4 opening E in the sounding boar-d.Referring t6 Fig. 2, it will be noted that this flange 22 may be offunnel-like design and construction, so that the bore or passagetherethrough is of conical shape decreasing in internal diameteroutwardly from the inner end of the flange to and defining the soundopening E. Such decrease in internal diameter may as in the instantexample, be constant and equal throughout substantially the length ordepth of flange 22 so as to provide the planar annular inner surface 220extending from the inner edge 22d of the flange to the outer edge 22cwhich latter edge may if desired be slightly beveled 'or rounded.

The sound opening E in the illustrated instrument has an internaldiameter in the plane of the upper surface of sounding board S ofapproximately l%,-and as referred to above is located with its centerspaced approximately 6" from the outer end wall l2 and approximately 3from the inner end wall I 4. The sound opening E is centered laterallyof the body with its center located on the longitudinal axis of thebody. At the inner end or edge 22d of flange 22, the open inner end ofthe sound passage formed and defined by the flange has an internaldiameter of approximately 1 while the Width or depth of the flange fromthe plane of the upper surface of sounding board S is approximately Bysuch construction of sound passage formed by the depending flange 22 ofsubstantial depth inwardly and formed integral with sounding board Bwhile opening through that board through the sound opening E, there iseffected a retarding and amplifying of the sound waves produced byvibration Within the resonant bell B, with the result that amagnification of vibration on the outer surface of the sound board isobtained and the tonal and resonance qualities of the instrument areimproved. In addition to the improvement in the musical qualities of theinstrument the provision of the integral flange or band 22' addsrigidity and strength to the sounding board S with the sound opening Eof substantial diameter formed therethrough.

If desired the sounding board S may be molded with an annular recess 22ain the outer side thereof around sound opening E and a decorative ring221) may be inset therein of plastic material preferably of.contrastingcolor to the color of the plastic material of which thesounding board is formed.

The passage formed and defined by the integral band or flange 22, whiledisclosed in the present example as of decreasing internal diameteroutwardly, is not necessarily limited to such formation, or to theparticular angle of the inner, annular surface-22c to a plane normal tothe outer surface of board B.

It will also be evident that various other forms, embodiments, andconstructions may be resorted to without departing from the broad spiritand scope of the appended claims, and hence I do not wish to limit myinvention in an respects to the exact-and specific disclosures hereof.

What I claim is: V 1. As a new article of manufacture, a hollow resonantplastic body for a stringed musical instrument; said body beingcomprised of relatively thin plastic end, side and bottom walls moldedto form an integral, continuous and unbroken wall structure open at itstop side; a relatively thin plastic sounding board cemented directly tosaid wall structure in position over and closing the open top sidethereof to form with said wall structure a hollow, substantiallyone-piece resonant body; said sounding board having a circular soundopening therethrough; an annular flange of plastic molded as an integralcomponent of said sounding board and being extended inwardly into thespace within the body from the inner side of said sounding board inposition thereon surrounding the said sound opening; said annular flangehaving a depth to extend a distance into the space within said body fromthe inner side of said sounding board not to exceed one-half thedistance between said sounding board and said bottom wall but at leastequal to approximately one-fifth /5) of the latter distance; and saidannular flange being adapted to form a passage of circular cross sectionextending therethrough from and in axial continuation of said soundopening to and opening at the inner end edge of said flange into thespace within said thin walled hollow resonant plastic body.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a hollow, resonant plastic body fora stringed musical instrument; said body being comprised of plastic end,side, bottom and top walls; said top Wall forming a plastic soundingboard having a circular sound opening therethrough; an annular flange ofplastic formed integral with said sounding board and being extendedinwardly into the space Within said hollow body from the inner side ofsaid sounding board in position thereon surrounding said sound opening;said flange hav ing a depth to extend into the space within said body adistance equal to approximately one-fifth /5) of the distance from theupper surface of said sounding board to said bottom wall of said body;and said annular flange forming and defining therewithin a passage ofcircular cross section extending therethrough from and in axialcontinuation of and opening at its outer end through said opening in thesounding board to and at its inner end opening into the space Withinsaid body at the inner edge of said flange.

MARIO MACCAFERRI.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date D. 27,276 Roth June 29, 1897 1,304,914 Smith May 27, 19191,559,108 Kirk Oct. 27, 1925 1,804,802 Pastor May 12, 1931 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 4,266 Great Britain Nov. '7, 1907

